Ulytau local communities participate in the annual festive events, enjoying adults and children playing various traditional sport games.\nTraditional spring festive rites of the Kazakh horse breeders – taking place in Terisakkan Village – mark the end of the previous and the beginning of the new yearly horse-breeding cycle. Rooted in traditional knowledge about nature and the age-old relations between man and horse, the rites involve skills inherited from nomadic ancestors, adapted to present-day reality. The rites take around three weeks in total, until the koumiss sharing ceremonies, which take place in every household, are over. The rites open a new yearly cycle of reproduction and manifest traditional Kazakh hospitality. Faced with the forced transition in the twentieth century from a nomadic way of life to a settled one, bearers have adapted the traditional form of horse breeding to meet present-day conditions to ensure its continued viability.

On the day of biye baylau, the first milking is always performed by women. Men assist them, bringing foals, one by one, to mares for suckling and then taking them back to allow for milking.\nTraditional spring festive rites of the Kazakh horse breeders – taking place in Terisakkan Village – mark the end of the previous and the beginning of the new yearly horse-breeding cycle. Rooted in traditional knowledge about nature and the age-old relations between man and horse, the rites involve skills inherited from nomadic ancestors, adapted to present-day reality. The rites take around three weeks in total, until the koumiss sharing ceremonies, which take place in every household, are over. The rites open a new yearly cycle of reproduction and manifest traditional Kazakh hospitality. Faced with the forced transition in the twentieth century from a nomadic way of life to a settled one, bearers have adapted the traditional form of horse breeding to meet present-day conditions to ensure its continued viability.

Kymyz, a traditional Kyrgyz beverage, is made of fermented mare’s milk. It was first prepared and used by the nomadic tribes of Central Asia and Mongolia. The earliest found traces of kymyz are from Neolithic period (some 5,500 years ago). Found in the valley of Suusamyr other relics were goatskin leather bags with traces of mare’s milk, indicating the presence of kymyz.\n\nKymyz preparation was kept secret by nomads for centuries. The mare’s milk is stored in animal skins called chanach that were firstly cleaned and smoked over a fire with pine or other coniferous branches to give the drink its unique smell and taste.

Ulytau is the geographic and historical center of Kazakhstan where the Kazakh Khanate appeared. Central Kazakhstan is rich in historical monuments. The history and traditions of Kazakh horse breeders have been maintained since the Paleolithic times. The traditions include: biye baylau, separating dairy mares from the shoal or the feast of the first milking; ayghyr kosu, joining a stallion to the herd or the stallion’s wedding; and kymyz muryndyk, beginning to make and drink kymyz or festive of the first kymyz. Inextricably linked with one another, these traditions mark the beginning of a new horse-breeding cycle and form an integral part of Kazakh intangible cultural heritage.

제목\n(English) Silk Roads ICH Survey Report – Festivals\n(Korean) 실크로드 무형유산 설문조사 보고서 – 축제\n(Russian) Доклад по исследованию нематериального культурного наследия Шелкового пути – фестивали\n\n언어: 한국어, 영어, 러시아어\n\n이 보고서는 실크로드 지역의 무형유산 축제에 관한 현황을 살펴보고 정보공유 및 가시성을 높이기 위한 시도로서, 한국을 포함한 실크로드 관련 국가들의 정부와 문화기관을 대상으로 시행하였으며, 2021년 총 9개국에서 접수한 347개의 유효응답을 통계 분석하여 수록하였다.

This survey report was conducted as part of the effort to identify the status of ICH festivals across the Silk Road region and further identify the challenges that should be resolved with regard to each festive event. This report presents the findings of the survey concerning ICH festivals, which was carried out in 2020 on the governments and cultural institutions across Silk Road countries, including the Republic of Korea. The valid sample, consisting of 347 respondents from nine countries, were statistically analyzed and described herein.